The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • 43

DRAMA SECTION- fl0 in NewYork ol. XLVII. SUNDAY MORNING, JULY 29, 1928. WHERE TO GO. rWO NEW DUFFY SHOWS ENLIVEN THEATRICAL BILL FOR WEEK i i II t.

II I 99 1 0 A iflft iClfel Aiw LAGUNA DOES The Fourth Estate Broadway "Aesthetes" IARRISON FORD IN, STAGE DEBUT MIA MARVIN COMPOSER OF MUSIC NORMA GETS EXPERIENCE IN COMEDY Modes of Handling Husband Studied by Miss Drew I THEY CALL ME I Si -J' 'S CYCLONE BECAUSE a. storm i If 4k IT Mt mm NSW YORK. July 28. Next sea sons orama wui ne oi especial tig nlficance ta basoball davcrs. final lists and newspaper reporters, Seg menta of life upon the diamond and In the roped arenas and city rooms have been isolated by experts and the result of their examinations will be an influential part cf the 4ssm coming year's exposures.

Already five studies of these three industries have been completed though the Broadway, or metropolitan, theater is still, and In the language of modern fisticuffs, loafing amongst th summer pillows of otiosity. Mr. Lardner "Elmer The Great treats of the national pastime. Mr, Buck's "Ringside" has to do with HERE FOLKS tS THE. REASON FOR THIS P' PLAV AMD THE TWO MA GALS VWWO AOORC the battlefields and so does the Messrs.

Marcln and Gropper "The Big Fight" in which Mr. uemnsey win enm nis from Mars to Momus. "Gentlemen of the Press," by Ward Morehouse. one of the most star-eyed dramatic luttvm i.tn u. and lay bare the sad vicissitudes 1 of journalism.

KJATALIE MOOftHEAO ISABEL VsJlTHERS A AS LVDIA. VWE8S16-R. Wf OESSIS o. MEOONSl I KNEW IT WAS A i vl AVACANT LOT OF SOrAE. KlMOj -V Jf i MS 'Wj BROWN DERBIES SLBTKA1.1EU The temperamental producer of "The Front Page" takes umbrage when I mention his productions be-fore they reach Broadway.

A drama -he thinks is not a drama until it has been beheld by the first audience and he was rather severe with me when I went to Newark, N. not long ago to greet "The Royal -Family." I dread fire as all burnt children do and so I merely hint that "The Front Page" is said to be another grim saga of the news gatherers. It is the fruit cf the FIANCEE. TO TK R1GMT GM-8. MflPfflll WELL BY DRAMA Two Art Theaters Flourish in Beach Town Writers.

Painters, Actors Foster Work "Robin Hoo(t' Soon to be Staged in Outdoors BY ANTONY AXDERSOX Presumably there are not many cities the size of Laguna Beach 2000 "natives" In winter that can boast of two little theaters. Yet that Is our quota at the present time, and the two give great promise of a flourishing future. Once upon a time, of course, there was only one little theater, but, in the impetuous way of little theaters since the very beginning of their existence, this soon spilt into two, then the two reunited, tnen they split again. Well do I remember the Little Theater of five or six years ago, when Laguna Beach was a village of 400 painters and writers, with a sprinkling of the necessary shopkeepers, though realty men were almost unknown. I was at that time one of the owners and editors of an ambitious little paper called Laguna Life and I traveled down once a week to bring much copy and read proof.

In the evening I went to the Little Theater, which was a shack set among superb eucalyptus trees, and there I saw some charming and artistic performances of one-act plays, all of them staged by Miss Ann Dare, who later went to Carmel. About this time, too, Isaac Frazee's "Indian Pageant" was given for the first time in a grove flooded with moonlight. It was an instantaneous artistic success, winning front-page honors and many photographic reproductions In The Times, which sent down one of its most brilliant feature writers to cover it. BEAUTIFUL "INDIAN PAGEANT" Then dramatics seemed to languish for a time in Laguna Beach, with brief spurts of revival. The "Indian Pageant" was presented again on two occasions, onco with fair success, then not so successfully because of poor management and co-operation.

The Community Clubf which had acquired a handsom new building with a stage and everything, started a dramatic section which made advances to the Little Theater and finally won it over. But not for long. Somehow the alliance didn't work. The Little Theater has now become the Little Art Theater, and the second organization is known as the Community Players. Wayne Moore is director of the one, Clyan Hall of the other.

Mr. Moore is a professional little-theater director, Mr, Hall Is an amateur in dramatics, but a consummately skillful worker in the arts-crafts and a man of forceful personality. Three months ago Mrs. Guy Bates Post directed and presented "Mrs. Bumstead Leigh" in Lynn Theater, ordinarily devoted to motion pictures, but lent for the occasion because the performance was given as a benefit to the Boy Scouts.

The play was a big success, largely, of course, because Mrs. Post herself took the role of Mrs. Buriatead Leigh. Yet the amateur actors gave a good account of themselves. But let us return to the Community Players and the Little Art Theater, friendly rivals in the dramatic field and both very active at the present moment, each promising a play every second month.

The Community Players have a play house, Little Art Theater has not but the latter has its eyes and ears wide open, and there are rumors of donations of moneys and building sites, for the Little Art Theater has influential friends and loyal supporters. AMICABLE SEPARATION After the split, which was In reality a very amicable separation be- (Cont limed on Page 16, Column 5) lV fl'0 I produomwe. as HUKLev. '9 JHr JSsM vnT7 wsrt WHEN CURTAIN RINGS DOWN ASKAM FORGETS FOOTLIGHTS frenetic experiences of Charlie McArthur and Ben Hecht, both of -whom learned life and the theater with me as town criers in Chicago. They say that the urbane Mr.

Kaufman of New York has added an essential suavity and sophistication to the Midwest work by subtracting from its brown-derby gauche--rles. Sprinkling it a little with Broadway's elegant colognes Mr. Kaufman has made it fit tor pearance in the polite drawing- rooms of the local drama. Expectation is a fickle mood and often when our hopes are highest something happens to make them droop. Even so sunny a philosopher as Mayor Walker in his popular therenody "Will you love me in December as you do id is pessimistic concerning promises for the hereafter.

Optimism is the morphine of the theater and frequently we are oped with ts auspicious hypodermics. It is possible that the above-mentioned prppects will turn out to be mirages, leaving us, as usual, still blinded by the gray sands. It may be that a year from now we 1U be as ignorant as ever about baseball, pugllistics and journalism. HAS GLORIFIED BASEBALL One has faith, nevertheless, in Lardner's ability to enlighten us concerning the athletes who work for Mr. Stoneham and his associate sportsmen In the counting houses of the National and American leagues.

Though the critical literature cl baseball is glorified by many mas- ters of thought and phraseology Mr. Lardner is or used to be preeminent in his analysis of the character and hablt3 of the players in private as well as in their performances in the Polo Grounds and stadium. Not content with mereluy describing hits and errors tie investigated and wrote about the deeper existence of the gymnasts in the home, the dugout, the show-? fr hnfch nnii thn jsiinnpr nlnh. Ha "Baby Cyclone" Blows In This George M. Cohan farce comedy which arrives at the El Capitan at today's matinee is said to be a tornado of laughs.

Harrison Ford heads the cast which Henry Duffy has secured. Sketches above of various principals are by Times Staff Artist Bruce Russell. Vine Street Players One Big Family, She Says; DcWill Jennings Returns This pleasant, light-haired Mia Marvin who has been seen in so many of Edward Everett Horton's plays at the Vine-street Theater is, next to her stage work, passionately fond of music. Some day' she hopes to publish some of her compositions, "if." she rdds, "I can find anyone who think' they are worthy." Mia is a Pasadena girl. Her family is steeped in California tradition.

Her great grandmother and her great grandfather, Col. and Mrs. E. J. Kewen, were the first THAT THING 1 THOUGHT IT WAS.

CASSIOy.THE (VJILUS MA-RKS) white people to be married In Cali fornia. Kewen was the first Attorney-General of California and assisted In drafting the constitution of the State. Her grandmother had the first piano in California. It was brought across the country in a covered wagon in the days of '49. Never was there an actress in the family until Mia decided she wanted to go on the stage.

Her mother, Mrs. Hazel with whom Mia makes her home in Pasadena, did not object, nor did her brother. So Mia started out under the watchful eye of Maude Fulton at the Majestic in "The Humming Bird" some foui years ago. After that came a part in "No, No, Nanette," for Mia dances very weU; a role in "Romance" when Doris Keane played that delightful drama in Los Angeles, and one in "The Whole Town's Talktog" with Taylor Holmes. Always she has played ingenues until last year in "The Harem," a Belasco production in San Francisco.

Here she was a sopnisticatea "vamp." The hardest part about the role was learning how to smoke a cigarette in an experienced siren style, Mia admits. When Edward Everett Horton and Maude Fulton launched their productions at the Vine-street Mia was engaged and has been a regular member of the company, appearing all shows since the openins with the exception of "The Queen's Husband." She Is playing the part of the other wife in "Mary's Other Husband," current at the Vine-street now. "We have so fun and en-Joy our-work here so much that it seems as if we belong to one big Vine-street family," laughingly explained Mia. now we are excited about DeWitt Jennings returning to the fold. He is to play Uncle Elmer.

It seems that Harry Vejar, who play? the policeman, has had a call tc start work in a Se we needed somebody to take his part. Fer gus Reddle was generous enough tf offer to give up his role to Jennlng-while he will play Llmpy Lannigan role formerly filled by Dave Caller Dave taking over Vejar's part." "There is just a marvelous spirit of co-operation here. I think it's because we have such a good time with one another: Any one of us would do anything to help the show, the theater and the company. Red-die's part was big fat one and it is considered unusually generous of him to make the offer he did." WITH CHANEY AGAIN Edna Tichenor, who played the "Vampire Woman" with Lon Chaney in "London After Dark," is playing with the star again. She is enacting the dancing girl in the African dive scenes in "West of Zanzibar" at tne Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios.

-Cots Wilson, in AAARV'S HUSBAND 'Vine Mil i. i 1 V. -mil Appears on El Caption Stage Today Baby Cyclone" by George Cohan, is Play 'c's Most Modest, Diffident in Discussing Role BY ALMA WHITAKER It is difficult not to suspect a fcl-w who has been In pictures ten jars when he springs a soft, gentle, iffdent manner on one. No motion- Icturo actor of Harrison Ford's ending could be as gentlemanly inocent as Hariison seemed to be. Yet getting him to talk about this trilling experience of cavorting on real stage in "The Baby Cyclone," pening at the El Capitan today, nder the Duffy auspices, was quite task.

Ho actually diverted the mversation to schoolboys, books, lews from city homes, etc, any me I would let him. "Yes, yes. but let's get back to tarrlson Ford." I would say, ef- ciently. "You are being inter- tewed about your stage debut, you now." Whereupon he would get as near blushing as an actor can. "Did you seek the stage or aid the tage seek you?" I demanded.

WANTED EXPERIENCE rv a lit.tlA of pafih. I loncred or it, of course, so the desire was erhaps apparent. You see, I am vid for experience. I want to learn very crancn ol tnis acting traae. I proDawy influenced tne mvi-ition somewhat he con fessed.

"Electron calling to elec- on as Byd Chaplin would ex- laln it, In another connection- hen mutual attraction Is in the air. "Do vou mean to sav this will be our very first performance before audience?" I probed. i- "wen, pracucauy, yes. Ducn unimportant stage experience as horl oc a hnv wrmlrin'fc TPft.llv It, never did me any good in pic- ures," elucidated Harrison. Presently, when I had yanked him ack to the subject again, he smiled lucVifnllv "Mv rnls? Oh.

I i vthf -'J a horrihlv rifih bachelor, about be married in ten days. I bristle ith good intentions ana poor juag- lent, and painful indiscretions. Jaby Cyclone' is the name of a et dog, (there are three in the n.v. Thev have broueht two mem- ers of the original cast here from ew York Natalie Moorhead and mrlnw Borland, who Dlaved in it at fie Henry, Miller Theater with huge kiccess whereupon we were imporarily switched off Harrison sain. "I am having a wonderful time uying new clothes for the patt," confessed almost girlishly.

"We quo tn hnw nnr mm. von know, and U.f I tone of my picture clothes seemed rand enough for the role. I have look rich and regal." So you see, larrison is feeling very aeDutanuy hese days. TWO PICTURES VnrA Vina lnsf, finished tWO DlC- ures, one with Marie Prevost and a with Ruth Tavlor and James iall "Just Married." But he still i wells fondly upon his roles in nmiin' fhrnnph in which he was I he lover with Norma Talmadge, nd in "Little Old New yons. ne quite an ardent picture lan, ana rffcnvorprt that he went to see ohn Barrymore three times in one lay in '-Dr.

Jekyll and Mr. Hyae" which must surely be a rec-ird for ardent fanning. Harrison pet vice, asine irom nrr in rare books. He niut imnrpssivfi library that Iroves more expensive on the up keep than ten cnuaren. buv nnnnh even make him brag about his library-he will be enthusing bout someone eises uuimy uy ime at aU.

Why, that fellow is up on the work or local au-wniTiri be flattered to teath to hear him psyche them with iterary analysis. Golf Expert Shows Skill at Orpheum The most amazing golfer in the 'orld is coming to the Orpheum bday. He is Tommy McAuliffe and he armless. This young man, the marvel of links, a master of the irons and can drive a. golf ball 120 to no vorrts is a -skillful nutter, is tdept at getting out of the traps End hazards Which complicate the teme.

and can Doast goumg siuu h.vh ovprw two-fisted Dlaver must U1V1I A hnvv. He is known as the armless bolf champion. McAulise grips tne ciuu oevwecu his cheek, shoulder and neck. Con-tta-nt- an nswidiious Dractice have BMX 1 "V1. iven him a sure, deft swing, a kwing which possesses unoenevauie inn-mar wis pvs is true, ne is noi (only a good plain golfer, but is an expert tries goner, uuvuib ua.ua Krom the face of a recumbent per- ton or from the race oi a waicn.

A railroad accident deprived Mc-lullff of his arms at age of years. A lew years tu.ua bacame a caddy at the Country Club bf Buffalo. There he discovered he fcould play with this system, wnicn jrts developed. no rwra a rartAv for fifteen years during which time he I frequently competed in caddy championship matches. In two such meets he won the second flight and a silver cup.

His best score to date is 93. over the Evleadow course at Buffalo, a score taade with one clue, a miairon. Pnr tits atthe Ornh- leiim Jib ha an nffprinff Which ShOWS fto advantage many trick shots that would stump any RETURN TO NATIVE ACCENT RETARDS ACTOR'S ENGLISH Hen-pecked helpless husbands may be all right for amusement pur poses, but for real life no, thank you! mis is tne veraict or Norma Drew, the invincible Betty of "Why Men Leave Home," current at the President Theater. Every night on the President btoge Norma packs bag and bag gage and strikes out to trot the globe, leaving friend husband at (Continued on rage 16, Column 2) vigorating country air, drive along the open road in my car, I don't care if the whole theater burns down." There is no scent of the theater about this baritone, no Barrymore looks, no flowing ties or artistic poses. Thin black, noteless bars run horizontally and vertically across his gray morning suit, which might have been tailored with golf knickers.

Askam looks like a young man who knows his country club. "I was always interested in the stage, but my father was against it. When I was a boy my mother used to take pleasure in hearing me sing In cantatas and choral events. I believe song is a natural gift It is speech glorified." mond said, "Is clearly defined in the Gospel story. He was more intelligent and more spiritual than the other disciples, and Christ's message of love therefore appealed to him with special force.

The dramatic difficulty in acting the part of John lies in bringing out this spirituality, while at the same time avoiding depicting John as a weakling. Spirituality is not an objective quality something you can turn on with a switch and say 'this is The player has to make it felt. The atmosphere and the feeling must be there, for the role is a subjective one, not objective." Raymond's success in making felt the spirituality of John, yet leaving him a man of strength, not of weakness, is one of the individual triumphs of the play. "Frolics" Will be at Follies "Midnight Frolics" a new burlesque production, acclaimed as of more than ordinary pretentions will the attraction at the Follies Theater for the week starting today. Producers Grover Frankle and James Yeoman are responsible for the new show.

The presenting company Is made up of players who are said to possess entertaining talents of a higher order. Among them are Charles Frttcher and Leo Leonard, comedians; Hazel Miller and Dorothy Walton, soubrettes. They, are assisted by others who are credited with outstanding skill in their special lines besides a chorus of thirty girls. 1 -W-nsr jit' to 7laxe it tttore in 4 Af At 11:13 the curtain at the Majestic rings down on "The Desert Song" and Perry Askam, the baritone who has wooed, whisked into the desert and won the prima donna, after a decent moment of lingering devotion, relinquishes her from his. bosom and makes a dash for his dressing-room.

"For two hours I live that part and then I forget it. I don't take mv business home with me," says Askam. "I would no more think of singing at home than of asking a friend of mine, who is an engineer, to make a model for his bridges in my drawing-room. Once I get away from the tumult of the theater into that wonderful, in BIBLICAL CHARACTER DIFFICULT Many Attributes of "John the Beloved'" Are Hard to Portray One of the most difficult roles in the Pilgrimage Play, next to that of the Christus, is the part of John, called "the Beloved." It was John who, at the Last Supper, leaned his head on Jesus's breast. In a sense, therefore, John was a reflection of Christ himself, and to enact the part faithfully on the stage calls both for a thorough understanding of the character of John and unusual ability on the part of the player.

In the Pilgrimage Play this season the role of the beloved apostle is taken by William Raymond. Raymond was not in the cast last season, but had taken the role of John in two previous seasons, as well as that of Peter in two other seasons. John, in his physical attributes, has been conventionalized by the early ecclesiastical painters, Raymond said yesterday in discussing the reasons for his dress and makeup in the part. John is supposed to have been the youngest of all the apostles, as well as the most beloved, but so far as his personal appearance Is concerned there is no authority outside of the painters. "John's character, however," Ray was among those who first discov- ered the obliquity of the black sox -when years ago they broke the na- tion's heart by bartering honor -and skill for income.

It was he who paraphrased a Winter Garden ballad of the moment called "We are always blowing bubbles" and led his fellow-correspondents and they sang "We are always blowing ball games, blowing ball games aU the dayl" I Moreover, the Zlezfeld Follle3 in which Mr. Lardner was the most humorous of its series ar.d the one that rah the longest. The record of his fiction is as proud as that of any other United States (Continued on Page 22, Column 6) nating due both to the speaking feature and the enormous progress American producers have made In artistic production. Vesuvius of Activities on at Playhouse The ringmaster In a three-ring circus has nothing on Gilmor Brown when he begins in earnest to produce plays and again, for variety, Mr. Heinz of pickle fame had better look to his laurels.

Here is the present schedule at the Pasadena Community Playhouse: "Dear Brutus," by Sir James M. Barrie, with eleven members in the cast, is the current attraction. "Pomeroy's Past," by Clare Kum-mer, is in rehearsal. "John Kemp's Wager," a combination of drama, folk songs and folk dances, with forty persons in the cast, is in rehearsal every day, with Theodore Viehman, drama department, Carnegie Institute of Technology, directing, and Walter Howe Jones directing the music, "The Vegetable," by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is just beginning rehearsals.

"Under One Roof," a Dutch play by Hans Fabrlcius, completed its last performance in Workshop, last Saturday night. "St. Elmo," with a large cast, is being rehearsed for Workshop pro duction. DOROTHY DWAN LEARNS HOW TO TAKE CUES IN "LOMBARDI, LTD." Bela Lugosi, the giant count of "Dracula," embarking on its sixth spine-chilling week at the Biltmore, has paid the penalty of achieving perfection. The Hungarian, In spite of wida screen recognition in his native country, directed his aspirations to the American stage when he arrived in New York six years ago.

Naturally that meant the immediate task of mastering the English language and this is. what Lugosi set out to do. In his early roles on the American stage he was compelled to learn the words in monosyllable striving to pronounce them without accent and without even knowing the meaning. Spare moments were spent in learning the tongue, and subsequent parts became easier to handle while his voice was surely and gradually acquiring faultless pronounciation. Then came an assignment to his present role a Hungarian count and with it orders to affect a south-Hungary accent.

Forty-one weeks Lugosi enacted the part in the original New York company and his contract is certain to keep him at it for several more months. The truth is, he admits, his reversion to accent has affected his natural English-speaking, and figures the "part has set hlr.i back two years. Lugosi sees in talking pictures a fruitful -a for stage talent, and doom for a large percentage of present movie stars. He was a leading man in pictures with pioneering Hungarian companies, but instinc tively aimed at the stage when he landed in America, Now he agrees that picture work would be fasci ormnu "Do-wris OftPfiEVM 0nif -y fOOTLIGHT' PERSONALITIES "Where," inquired Dorothy Dwan, blue eyes wide with amazement as she was handed the script for her part in to open Thursday at the Hollywood Playhouse, "where is the rest of it? This seems to be just my part. And what are those funny lines?" "Why, Dorothy," rejoined Henry Duffy, laughing despite himself, "Why, Dorothy, do you mean to tell Verry Gskm in 7, 1 1 ft me you have never seen a stage script before?" "No," confessed Dorothy, "Isn't there any more than this?" There wasn't, Duffy informed her, and the extra lines which she found so puzzling, were cue-lines.

"You'll learn," he continued, "and keep on being honest, young lady, for any bluff you try to make would certainly be found out with a question like that" There is a great, great deal to learn about the stage, Dorothy, a motion-picture actress of some four years' experience, is finding out. She is rehearsing now for this rollicking comedy of which Leo Carrillo is the star and in which she plays the part of a pretty French saleslady who wears very chic dresses. "But I don't care, everyone Is being so perfectly nice about it," she said, eyes sparkling with the thrill of it all. "I've wanted to go on the stage all of my life. I wanted to when I left boarding school four years ago, but mother didn't think it advisable then.

So we came west and I tried for pictures instead." "I've had pretty good luck, too. Oh, I haven't been terribly successful, but there has always been work. The last thing I did was opposite Robert Armstrong in 'Square Crooks' for De Mille. You know he played with James Gleason In 'Is Zat So. He was the first one encourage me at all about the He sent a telegram to Mr.

Duffy about my possibilities. So did Mr. Gleason. Other people were nice-too." Dorothy Is emphatic in her decla- (Coatiuued on Pace 16, Column 6), a i tVW' Tfc i ilk V' i'hsHU Jl 1 Lrtadys Qeorne and T2obardj in J. .3 Clendon ta why mem leave home windqw panes; President.